2. Observational Study: The researcher observes a
place, group, or activity in its natural setting; records
the observations; and interprets the observations.
Narrative Inquiry: The researcher gathers data and
constructs a narrative of the study. She/he collects
data to tell a story about the ways the subjects
experience the world.
Research Methods Review
3. An archive is a collection of artifacts preserved by a
library, historical society, or other institution.
Researchers use archives to find and interpret new
primary sources, such as historical records, letters,
and photos
Related data collection methods:
Going to a physical archive to find, study, and interpret primary
sources
Using digital archives to find, study, and interpret primary
sources
New Method: Archival Research
4. Researchers often complete library research by reading and
interpreting secondary sources and searching databases for
primary sources such as news articles
Related data collections methods:
Physically going to the library to find books, films, etc. to study and
interpret.
Searching online databases for scholarly articles, news articles, etc.
New Method: Library Research
5. The researcher “lives with and like” the subjects of
the research project in order to get a first-hand,
personalized look into the subjects’ experiences..
Related data collection methods
Participant observation
Informant Interviews
Studying daily artifacts
New Method: Ethnography
6. The researcher examines a “text”/“texts” to look for
particular repeating words, phrases, or concepts that
will help the researcher analyze a person, people, or
culture. Texts to examine include speeches, websites,
conversations, interview transcripts, essays, news
articles, etc.
New Method: Content Analysis
7. To engage in content analysis, one must “code” a text or texts
1. Decide how many concepts to code for.
2. Decide on the specific words or phrases to code for.
3. Develop rules for coding.
4. Code the texts.
5. Analyze the results.
Related data collection methods:
You might use many of the above methods (archival or library
research, observational study, ethnography) to begin a coding project
Interviews and surveys are also important
Content Analysis
Coding project
Editor's Notes
These are two research methods that I saw many people employed in their first research log entries.
Archival research: Helpful when you need to discover and understand primary sources related to your place, issue, or people. Primary sources are original artifacts that individuals have produced: letters, pictures, raw interviews (video/aural), objects, etc. They haven’t been interpreted by anyone yet. I can imagine since you’re interested in the Tower Theater as a central site for the 9th and 9th area over a 70 year scope that you’d be looking for primary resources that you may find in a city archive of sorts. Secondary sources, on the other hand, interpret or analyze primary sources.
what already exists about your chosen topic. What have others said, written, produced?
(Don’t forget many libraries have government documents, atlases, statistical sources, and other lesser known resources.) The help desk in the library is an excellent place to go for help working in the databases. Help you plug in your place to broader social/cultural issues. Maybe you’d find that someone has written on your place already. Maybe you’d find news articles on your place.
Participant observation: the researcher participates in the community and takes field notes and observes as a participant rather than as an outsider.
Informant Interviews: the research identifies the people in the community being studied that are particularly knowledgeable about the issues that you are researching. (They are called key informants.) The researcher asks them open-ended questions about their experiences living/working in the community.
The point is to code a text or sets of texts to interpret them in a new light.
Decide how many concepts to code for. SAY YOU ARE CODING ONE OF OBAMA’S SPEECHES ON HEALTHCARE. WHAT CONCEPTS MIGHT BE INTERESTING TO LOOK AT? (COST, COVERAGE, ETC)
Decide on the specific words or phrases to code for. “INEXPENSIVE. FOR EVERYONE. ECONOMICAL. ETC.’
Develop rules for coding. ‘WHAT IF THE SPEECH INCLUDES THE WORD ‘EXPENSIVENESS’? WILL THAT COUNT OR NOT? YOU WANT TO BE CONSISTENT!!
Code the texts. EITHER BY HAND OR BY A COMPUTER PROGRAM.
Analyze the results. LOOK FOR TRENDS IN THE SPEECH. WHAT CONCLUSIONS CAN BE DRAWN?
